Australian Idol: Where are they now?

It's been 14 years since the first Australian Idol. Here's what Guy Sebastian, Shannon Noll & co are up to now...
- by
Hayley Peppin

17 Jan
2017

Shannon Noll

Back in 2003...Shannon Noll was known as the contestant who was “robbed” of the title of Australian Idol (which went to Guy Sebastian).

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Shannon Noll

"Nollsy" went on to have a popular musical career in his runner-up position. A few of his singles featured in the Australian top 10 with an estimated 1.3 million records sold.

After living the high life for four years, Nollsy’s career was limited to The Biggest Loser opening song with his hit “Lift”, State of Origin pre-game entertainment and the Radio Rental advertisements.

Last weekend Nollsy was arrested outside a strip club in Adelaide.

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Guy Sebastian

Back in season one, Guy Sebastian was crowned the winner.

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Guy Sebastian

As one of the show’s biggest export’s, Guy has had eight top ten-studio albums and won four ARIA awards.

Outside of Australia, Guy made it on US Billboard charts for his hit song, ‘Battle Scars’, with American rapper Lupe Fiasco, and placed a commendable fifth at our first Eurovision. Go the fro!

From contestant to judge, Guy has gone full circle, ending up judging on The X Factor now. He even just released his latest EP with the debut single, “Set in Stone”, which is already a smash.

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Rob Mills

Season 1

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Rob Mills

Ahhh Rob Mills, the boy whose biggest claim to fame probably was hooking up with Paris Hilton at the Melbourne Cup. It was only end of last-year when we were reminded of the season one finalist’s short-lived romance when Paris Hilton came back down under, and of course, she was flooded with questions about “Millsy”. Her answer: who?

Mills hasn’t done too badly for himself - appearing on Dancing with the Stars,Celebrity Apprentice and Channel 10’s Young Talent Time.

More prominently known on the stage, however, he’s been a part of Australia’s most renowned productions in leading roles for Grease, Wicked and Legally Blonde the Musical.

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Casey Donovan

Season Two

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Casey Donovan

Next time you use Uber in Sydney, keep a look out for a Nissan Pulser, as Casey Donovan could be your next driver.

Donovan told The Daily Telegraph that meeting new people on the road gave her “inspiration” to write music.

Casey has also appeared in a vast array of stage productions and just recently the Australian tour of Queen musical, “We Will Rock You”.

She also made shock headlines after revealing in a tell-all memoir that she had been “catfished” when a female friend of hers pretended to be her male lover… for six years.

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Ricki-Lee Coulter

Back in season two, the singer placed seventh.

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Ricki-Lee Coulter

Despite coming seventh, Ricki-Lee Coulter carved out a successful career in Australia. She paired up with other popular contestants from the show for the short-lived girl group, Young Divas, until she left in 2007 to resume a solo music career.

Her hit song, “Can’t Touch It” received platinum status and even featured in the Sex and the City 2 movie trailer and credits.

On top of her musical career, Ricki-Lee Coulter has featured on our screens as presenter of season six and seven of Australian Idol, was a mentor to Seal’s team in the first season of The Voice and came third on Dancing with the Stars in 2014.

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Kate DeAraugo

Kate was the winner of season 3.

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Kate DeAraugo

Winner of season three, Kate DeAraugo had her 15 minutes of fame when she scored two hit singles and became a member of the Young Divas.

After battling personal issues, DeAraugo stepped away from music and signed a deal with Jenny Craig. After undertaking liposuction and experiencing more health problems, she withdrew her partnership. Later she was a contestant on celebrity weight loss program Excess Baggage.

In May 2015, she re-entered the music world with single “Shut Your Mouth”, but her musical return was fleeting. Only a month later it was revealed DeAraugo was battling an ice addiction after she was charged with driving under the influence.

@kdearaugo

Jessica Mauboy

Mauboy was runner-up in season 4

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Jessica Mauboy

Jessica Mauboy is another contestant who has cemented her name in Australian music and film. After being announced runner-up in season four of Idol, Mauboy joined the Young Divas, before going solo to release a string of number-one R&B singles.

Since then, Mauboy has collaborated with international artists like Flo Rida, Snoop Dogg, Ludacris, Jay Sean, Pitbull and toured as support acts for Beyonce and Chris Brown’s respective Australian concerts. She’s also performed for Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama during their visits down under.

Mauboy has also acted n a number prominent Australian films like Bran Nue Dae and The Sapphires.

She’s currently playing a lead role in the new television drama, The Secret Daughter.

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Dean Guyer

Dean Guyer made it to the semis in season 4 of Australian idol.

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Dean Guyer

After producing one album with Sony following Idol, music took a backseat, as Guyer focused on an acting career. Initially, Guyer packed his bags and headed to Ramsey Street to appear on Neighbours, until scored a Hollywood acting and singing gig on the popular American television show, Glee.

In his personal life, Dean was briefly engaged to Lisa Origlasso (one half of The Veronicas).

@realdeanguyer

Matt Corby

Teenage hearts were fluttering in season four when Matt Corby appeared on Idol season five sounding as good as he looked.

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Matt Corby

The singer won Song of the Year at the ARIAs with his 2011 single “Brother” and 2013 single “Resolution”.

Corby has performed at major music festivals such as Australia’s Splendour in the Grass, UK’s Glastonbury and last year’s Australian Falls Festival.

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Natalie Gauci

Natalie Gauci won season 5 of Idol.

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Natalie Gauci

Natalie Gauci released one album before parting ways with Sony.

Like DeAraguo, her post-Idol life hasn’t been easy, as she too suffered from drug addiction and mental illness after splitting up with her record label.

Today, Gauci lives in London where she's been working on a new album set to be released in 2017. She’s been promoting it for past month on tour in Victoria and New South Wales.

@nataliegauciofficial

Stan Walker

The winner of Season 7.

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Stan Walker

The final Australian Idol season winner headed back to his homeland and became a judge on New Zealand's X Factor.

The Maori singer also featured in a number of Kiwi films including the critically-acclaimed Hunt for the Wilder People last year.

He also opened for Nicki Minaj’s New Zealand concerts in 2012 and Beyonce at her Auckland and Perth shows in 2013.